Christ Lutheran Church

Scrapings & Parings I am discovering that one of the "luxuries" of retirement is to go through old files and rediscover things I wrote years ago, which seem to have aged fairly well. A recent discovery is a years ago in 1992 as we prepared to vote in the presidential election pitting Bill Clinton against George Bush, the elder. A prominent element in that campaign season was the very loud emergence of the "religious right" and its claim that God was clearly on the side of the Republicans. Speeches at their convention by Newt Gingrich, Jack Kemp and Patrick Buchanan declared the Republican Party's custody of the Judaeo-Christian tradition and, consequently, that the Democrats and their candidates were agents of the radically subversive agenda of secular humanism. In response to those remarks about 'God's country' I wrote: "There it was again! The word God used as a weapon to terrify, threaten, cajole, seduce and persuade for partisan political purposes. While I am deeply offended as both a citizen and a Christian by Mr. Buchanan's identification of God (the living God and not the mere word) and God's will with the far right wing of American politics, I am not surprised by it. Politicians do it all the time, Democrats as well as Republicans. It is expedient, effective and makes for a great 'sound bite.' It is also blasphemy. This liberal Lutheran was driven to protest when Mr. Buchanan asserted in reference to the Democratic platform, "These are not the kinds of changes we can abide in what we call 'God's country.'" As I write this column in 2008, three weeks out from election-day, the culture wars and their attendant religious posturing have been largely muffled by the very real peril of the global financial crisis which equally threatens conservatives and liberals, the right and the left, evangelicals and mainliners. Nevertheless, permit me to share with you the concluding paragraphs from those will give you some food for prayerful thought as you prepare to vote this year in 2008. Would that everyone, politicians, partisans, and voters who claim to stand squarely in the 'Judaeo-Christian tradition' remember the Second Commandment of that tradition before they claim God and God's name for their party, candidate or platform: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Would that they - and we - also remember that the word God has been used blasphemously before in history to justify slavery, racism, genocide, slaughter, war, conquest, oppression, torture and inquisition. Had I the authority to do so, I should impose a moratorium on the use of the word God in all campaigns for public office. Moreover, I should demand that candidates speak plainly, honestly and humbly about political and economic justice, mercy, equality, civic responsibility, care for the poor and hungry and homeless, for children and the elderly, for the environment at home and throughout the world. I suspect that the living God would be well-pleased if the women and men we elect in November could help us as a society to move even slightly nearer to the realization of these godly things. Since I have no such authority, however, may I suggest that the least we can do as members of a mainline, moderate Christian tradition is publicly to test the spirits, to see if they come from God (1 John 4:1).  The radical right wing of American Christianity does not have a monopoly on God's word. No. The living God speaks to us, too, in Word and Sacrament in our worship every Sunday morning. And this privilege imposes upon us the duty to unmask false prophets, identify blasphemy for what it is, and liberate the word God from its captivity within the narrow, rigid and often intolerant agenda of political/religious zealots.  As we prepare to vote, let us listen carefully, discriminatingly to what the candidates and their proxies say. Just because a politician uses the word God does not mean that she/he is speaking for the living God of Jesus Christ, for that God revealed to the ages his own political platform in the song of Jesus' mother, the Virgin Mary: His mercy is for those who fear him       from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm;       he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,      and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things,       and sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:50-53